ISLAMABAD, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Militants killed at least three Pakistani soldiers manning a post in the country's volatile northwestern tribal regions, according to reports.
The attack occurred in the Ladha area of South Waziristan, according to Xinhua news agency.
No groups have claimed responsibility for the attack, but several militant organizations operate in Pakistan's northwest, including the Taliban and Islamic State- and al-Qaida-linked groups.
Ladha used to be a militant stronghold until the military captured it in 2009, but extremists in the area still carry out sporadic attacks on Pakistan's security forces, Xinhua reports.
Pakistan's military said Tuesday it used helicopter gunships to destroy a militant training camp and ammunition depot in the Shawal area of neighboring North Waziristan -- where government airstrikes killed up to 90 militants last week.
The Pakistani armed forces have stepped up attacks against militants in its western tribal regions after a suicide bomber killed the home minister of Punjab province and at least a dozen others on Aug. 16.
Al-Qaida-linked Sunni militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in retaliation for the death of its leader, Malik Ishaq, who was killed last month.
On Aug. 18, Pakistani legislator Abdul Rashid Godil survived being shot five times by gunmen on motorcycles in Karachi.
Since June of last year, the Pakistani military has mounted an offensive, known as Zarb-e-Abab, into the country's northwestern tribal regions, reportedly killing 2,500 militants with the Taliban and other groups.
